Kael turned back toward the gate, tightening his fingers on the branch beneath him. The world beyond the walls felt so close. Just a few hundred feet. But it might as well have been another country.
His reached up, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as a strange feeling crept over him. It was some kind of faint sense of discomfort that made his skin prickle.
He frowned, as he furrowed his brow slightly, only to shake off the feeling.
"Forget it," he muttered, dropping his hand. "Let's just play."
Eren grinned. "Now you're talking."
They played until the sun climbed higher, chasing each other through the village paths, climbing the oak tree's highest branches, pretending to be demon hunters tracking fiends through the wilderness. The hours stretched on in a blur of laughter and scraped knees, the kind of day that felt endless when you are living it.
The morning gave way to midday. The soft light and the air grew warmer.
By the time Kael's stomach started growling, the sun was past its peak.
"I'm going home," he said, dropping down from the tree. "Mom's probably got lunch ready."
Eren waved him off. "See you later."
Torin nodded. "Don't get in trouble."
Kael grinned. "When do I ever?"
He jogged back through the village, weaving between cottages and waving at the villagers he passed. The woodworking shop was still busy, the sound of hammers echoing through the square. Smoke curled from chimneys, and chickens pecked at the dirt near the well. Well, this were all normal.
Kael pushed through the cottage door, letting it swing shut behind him.
His mother was at the counter, setting out plates. She looked up as he entered, and a small smile crossed her face.
"Good timing. I was just about to call you."
Kael walked across the room and dropped into his seat at the table. His legs ached from climbing, and his shirt was streaked with dirt and tree husk.
Lyanna set a plate in front of him with bread, cheese, and a small bowl of stew. Then she sat down across from him with her own plate, though she didn't start eating right away.
She just watched him.
Kael noticed but he didn't say anything. He was used to it by now.
"How was your morning?" she asked.
"Good."
He tore off a piece of bread. "I watched Hendrik leave. His wagon looked pretty heavy."
"He always brings too much," Lyanna said softly.
Kael chewed, then swallowed. "Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Why can't we leave the village?"
Her expression changed slightly. The warmth in her eyes dimmed, replaced by something heavier.
"You know the rule, Kael."
"I know there's a rule. I just don't know why."
She set her spoon down, and folded her hands on her lap.
"The boundary exists to protect us. To protect all of us."
"From what?"
"From what's outside the wall."
"But what's outside?" His voice rose slightly, with growing frustration becoming evident in his tone.
"Torin says it's fiends. Eren says it's because of the old war. No one actually explains it."
Lyanna went quiet for a long moment. Then she took a slow breath.
"Kael…your father," she said quietly, "was a demon hunter."
Kael blinked. "What?"
"He was strong. Brave. Loved by everyone in this village."
She looked down at her hands. "He fought in the war against the calamities. The one Torin's mother probably told him about."
Kael leaned forward, forgetting his food completely. "Dad was a demon hunter?"
"He was."
A faint smile touched her lips. "He talked about you all the time. Even before you were born. He was so excited to meet you."
Kael's chest tightened. "Then… what happened to him?"
The warmth in his mother's eyes faded completely.
"…He…died."
Kael curled his hands into fists on the table. I guessed as much. I always had the feeling deep down. But hearing it out loud still hurt.
"How?" he asked.
"…He was protecting the village."
Lyanna's voice was steady, but there was pain beneath it. "The boundary, the wall, the rules… they all exist because of him. Because of what he sacrificed to keep us safe."
Kael stared at her. "He made the rules?"
"His death made them necessary."
She reached across the table and rested her hand over his. "The world outside isn't like Oakhaven, Kael. It's far more dangerous. There are things out there that would destroy us if they could, and your father made sure they couldn't get to us. But that's only if we stay inside the boundary."
Kael looked down at their hands. His throat felt tight.
"I never got to meet him."
"I know."
"Everyone else has their dad."
"I know." Her grip tightened. "But you still have me."
He nodded, forcing a small smile. "Yeah. I know." But the ache in his chest didn't go away.
Lyanna pulled her hand back slowly, her gaze drifting toward the window. For a moment, she looked… scared.
"Mom?"
She blinked and turned back to him, the fear smoothing out of her expression.
"Yes?"
"Why do you always look so worried?"
She hesitated. Then forced a smile, which was still warm.
"Because I'm your mother. It's my job to worry."
"About what?"
"About keeping you safe."
Kael frowned. "Safe from what?"
"…"
She didn't answer. She just reached out and ruffled his hair.
"Eat your lunch," she said softly. "Before it gets cold."
Kael wanted to push further. He wanted to ask more. But something told him she wouldn't answer. So he picked up his spoon and continue eating.
Though, this didn't stop him from noticing the way her hands trembled slightly when she lifted her own bowl. Or the way her eyes kept drifting back to the window, like she was waiting for something to arrive.
Suddenly, Lyanna froze.
Her hand, still resting on the table, tightened into a fist. Her eyes went distant, as if she were listening to something far away.
"Mom?"
She didn't answer. Her breathing pattern had changed. It now felt like she was trying not to panic.
Then her face went pale.
"No," she muttered.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Lyanna's head snapped toward the window. Her eyes were wide and staring into space.
I know that presence. I've felt it before…the same presence that took my husband from me.
The barrier above the village—her barrier, the one she'd woven into the sky to protect Oakhaven—suddenly shuddered. She felt it like a physical blow, a ripple of distortion tearing through the magic she'd spent years maintaining.
Something was breaking through.
"Kael." Her voice was sharp, and urgent. "Get away from the window. Now."
"What—"
"NOW!"
Kael scrambled back from the table, confusion and fear flashing across his face as he pulled his small frame away from the window area.
Lyanna stood, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. She moved toward him, her hands were already glowing faintly with golden light.
Above them, the barrier finally shattered.
The sound was silent, but Lyanna felt it in her chest—a sudden, violent snap, like a bone breaking under pressure.
And then the sky darkened.
Not from the clouds. But from something falling.
Kael's eyes shot toward the window. Through the glass, he saw the light dim, shadows spreading across the village as if the sun had been swallowed whole.
"Mom—"
BOOM.
The impact hit before he could finish.
Something struck the village center with a force that didn't belong to this world. The ground collapsed inward at the point of impact, a massive crater tearing open where the great oak tree had stood for generations. The shockwave erupted outward in a perfect merciless ring, sweeping everything in its path toward the village boundary.
Everything the wave touched, it took.
Cottages torn from their foundations. The woodworking workshop folded inward, burying the craftsmen inside beneath collapsing timber. The well cracked and was swallowed. Carts, tools, bodies—all of it driven outward from the center, packing against the village boundary and treeline in crushing heaps of everything Oakhaven had ever been.
The shockwave hit Lyanna's barrier like a wall of stone.
She gritted her teeth as the force slammed into the golden surface, her feet dragging backward through the cracking earth. Debris hammered against the shield—beams, planks, shattered stone. The barrier held, but the impact sent them both sliding backward, their feet dragging through the dirt surface.
Kael couldn't breathe or think. The world was all noise and chaos and destruction.
And then, just as suddenly, it stopped.
The roar faded. The shaking ceased. Dust hung thick in the air, choking and blinding.
Lyanna's barrier flickered once, then dissolved. She dropped her hands, breathing hard, with sweat beading on her forehead. The effort had drained her, but they were alive.
Kael staggered, his legs barely holding him upright. He coughed, waving a hand in front of his face as the dust swirled around them.
"Mom—what—"
"Stay close to me," she said, her voice tight.
Her eyes were already fixed on the crater.